January 12, :00 am – 9:55 am Pamela Kavalam (Vice President, JETAANY) SUPPORTING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT EVENTS JETAA Regional Conference on Membership in Boston, MA

SESSION GOALS  Discuss JETAANY’s professional development programming - A Case Study  Highlight events from other chapters  Troubleshoot & brainstorm challenges and ideas for improvement  Talk about next steps

CAREER FORUM/WELCOME BACK RECEPTION  Saturday from 2:30 pm - 6:30 pm  Topics: Keynote Speech, Resume Writing, Interviewing, Leveraging your Network, JET Alumni Panel Discussion, Meeting with Japanese Recruiters  Welcome Back Reception with the Ambassador  Nijikai (networking opportunity)

CAREER FIELD-SPECIFIC PANELS  ESL and Language Education in Japan & U.S.  Freelancers  International and Higher Education  February 2014: Interpreting, Translating and Working at a Japanese Organization/Company (feedback from the Career Forum evaluations)

MEISHI EXCHANGE/NETWORKING EVENTS  Meishi Exchange  One of our biggest events of the year; 150+ attendees  JETs are encouraged to bring coworkers and friends  Invite Friends of JET, specifically Japanese community organizations that we work with throughout the year  Nametags, raffle, business cards  Co-Sponsor Events with Japanese- related organizations  Japan Society (Young Professionals Night)  Kenjinkai, Japanese-American organizations  University Japan Clubs (Baruch, Rutgers)

HIGHLIGHTS OF JETAA-USA CHAPTERS  JETAADC: Okaeri Career Workshop in November with information catering to tips on the networking environment in Washington; co- sponsor networking events with Japan America Society of DC  NEJETAA: event where JET alumni share their post-JET job searching anecdotes/best strategies for job searching; alumni database for specific fields; career panel on international organizations  PNWJETAA: Transitions: Opportunities Forum and Networking Expo; use LinkedIn to post jobs; members leverage their personal connections to help other JETs  All chapters had monthly networking happy hours (yappari)  Any other successful events?

STRATEGIES FOR REACHING RECENT RETURNEES  Catch them early- remind them to sign up for their home chapter listserv:  Pre-Departure Conference (home consulate)  Life After JET Conference (Yokohama) in spring  AJET in summer  Reach out to returnees in September/October  Update information, Facebook, save-the- date for Welcome Back Reception/Career Forum  Consulate & Recruitment Sessions

STRATEGIES FOR ENGAGING ESTABLISHED ALUMNI  10+ Year Reunion  Alumni Survey  LinkedIn  Sempai/Kohai happy hours  Board of Directors  Higher profile events (meetings with Japanese government officials, prefecture-specific events, etc.)  Future plans: event for former officers and board members

OTHER RESOURCES FOR MEMBERS  Job postings  Writing for JQ Magazine and JETWit  Informational interviews  Having point-people with connections in various fields  Having an officer dedicated to professional development (professional development chair, careers chair, mentorship chair)  Nihongo Dake events  Building skills: Toastmasters (Nichibei); Japanese language classes  What else?

CHALLENGES  Budget/human resources/time  Buy-in from members (i.e. attendance)  Lack of information about members’ career fields  Security issues with alumni database/sharing information about members’ careers  What else?

NEXT STEPS  Google spreadsheet: Professional Development for New Returnees  Let’s share our resources  connect officers who do professional development, share our materials, share speakers (particularly notable JET alums)  Create a working group of officers planning professional development events  Have a website space to collect materials in one place  Collaborate to share connections and job postings across chapters; connect members in the same career fields  What suggestions can we share with the national initiative?

Thank you!   Facebook:  Website: Please feel free to contact me if you’d like a copy of our Career Forum program or to share any professional development materials.